The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1887-07-12
FLASHES FROM FLORIDA
JACKSONVILLE WANTS A CAB
WORKS MOVED THERE.

Something of a Boomerang Accord,
ing to the Contractors-A Railroad
to be Built to Fort George Island
Work Begun on the New Opera
House.
JACKSONVILLE, July 1.-THE latest
jacksonville enterprise is the attempt to get
the Blaine Bros big car works located here.
The Messrs Blaine made proposition to
the Board of Trade that for donation Of
81, 900 in cash and five acres of land they
would move their present plant here and i'll,
crease its capacity. A committee have the
matter in charge, but there seems to be
lukewarmnesS about the matter The con-
Germ would employ from eighty to $50 men,
bringing an increase to the population Of
500 or more. Their wages Of 81 200 to s., ,00q
weekly would be spent here.
THE LIEN LAW.
A prominent architect of the city i'm
formed the MORNING NEWS correspondent
this morning that the mechanics lien law
was a sort of boomerang" Those con.
templating building insist that the builder
or contractor give bonds or become response
bic for the work of their laborers, and in
nearly all cases 1t was found they could not
well do this. Therefore all building has
stopped for the time being, as those who pro-
pose building insist on a change or moditica-
tion of the law before they will start any
new work. In this way it hurts the me,
chanic instead of protecting him, as all this
work is delayed and some may be put off in,
definitely on account of the complicated
law.
THE NEW OPERA HOUSE.
Ground was broken this morning for the
new opera house. The plans are not f1n4
ished yet, though the general foundation
plan is nearly completed. The building will
be O. feet deep, 40 wide and the ceiling
about 40 feet high. The stage will be 50
feet wide and % feet deep, with a 2S-foot
drop curtain. Below the stage is an S-foot
high space, which will be used for dressing
rooms in part, storerooms, etc. The foun-
dations will be very strong and substan.
tlal. The pit is to be sunk low, SO
that the occupants of the dress and
parquet circles will have good view of the
stage. The floor stands from the door at a.
very acute angle, and those in the rear seats
will have an unobstructed views The extreme
rear seats will be raised and be much higher
than the ones in front, thereby making
them as desirable. A gallery will run on
each side. In these the rows of seats will
be arranged in a like manner, each row
rising higher than the one in front. Four
private boxes will be provided. The access
sories, scenery, decorations, etc,
of the interior will all be first class
and executed by master hands. Windows at
the side will give ample ventilation, while
the entrances are large The fire protec-
tion is good and will be made special
feature. The exterior will be a brick veneer;
the roof will he timed When finished the
opera house will be great Improvement
over the old one, and in all probability the
increased facilities will induce better com,
tp e.
THE KNIGHTS OF PYTHIAs.
Jacksonville's Division of the Uniform
Rank Knights of Pythias, is daily increasing
in membership They drill every week and
much Improvement is noted in their work.
Owing to some misunderstanding, it is likely
that The Hero will be the only Jackson-
vile boat at tho st. Augustine regatta. The
Chemaun will not go, nor the Blossia
and the Arthrar b. is not in trim.
The regatta at Pablo Tuesday, over fif-
teen-mile course, promises to be a lively af-
fair. Some fifteen yachts are booked to
enter. The first prize is a $3.50 cup, to be
known as the Murray Hall cup. The yacht
winning it two consecutive times is to be
permitted TO keep it. The second prize will
be S75 in cash. Each of these prizes is given
by Mr. Christopher, who is desirous Of en-
couraging the yachting clubs.
ANOTHER SUBURBAN RAILROAD.
Another suburban railroad is on the tapis
for Jacksonville. The MORNING NEWS cor ;
respondent interviewed Capt Charles
Holmes this morning regarding the project.
The Captain is one of the original fncorpo-
rators and is pushing the enterprise forward
with his accustomed vim. He went to New
York expressly to secure funds for buildipg
the road and says his trip was a success in
every respect. The company is known as
the Fort George Railroad Company. The
La fx 81
of which cars can be run on the Fernandina
and Jacksonville railroad track. The great
importance of the road is that aside from
as seaside resort, it provides
for the building of a general lumber ship
ping port at the island. At twenty feet
from the shore eighteen or twenty feet Of
water can be obtained and more if desired,
further out. This enables large class OF
schooners to come in as at present the shoals
at Danes Point interferes with large vessels
coming to the city This is where Fernan-
dina has had the advantage. With this
road in operation there is no reason why 10
should not build up vast lumber depot
there
The survey viii be commenced next week
and the line located. AS soon as these pre-
liminaries are all settled bonds will be issued
and the work begun. AS the Captain says,
all the funds required are secured. 1t will
be n broad gauge road, with heavy steel
rails and we'll built The Captain hopes to
have IL IN full operation by Jan. /, 1888.
The Captain is an old railroad man, as he
was superintendent of the old Florida Gem
tral for some years, and will carry the en-
terprise through.
a meeting of the subscribers Of the Sub
Tropical Exposition is called for the Board
of Trade rooms here Tuesday, at o'clock,
for the purpose of organizing. The pros
poets Of the enterprise are good so far
An S0O-pound turtle, containing 266 eggs,
was captured at Mayport Sunday morning
by Messrs. II. s. Walker, j. L. Hall and
John Jamison. 1t required the united
efforts of seven men TO hoist il into a
wagon The shell was feet one way and
over the other. IL is the largest captured
ON the coast for years.